Oklahoma City Thunder: Reggie Jackson Due For Breakout Season

By Rob Lunder

Jerome Miron – USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a tough end to last season with the playoff-ending injury to star point guard Russell Westbrook. If there was one good thing that came about from the injury, it was the inspired play of guard Reggie Jackson. The second-year guard out of Boston College always had nice potential as a combo guard, but his rookie year was very inconsistent; that is typically how the first year goes for most rookies, so it was nothing for him to be ashamed about. During this past regular season, he didn’t play significant minutes as the Thunder’s backcourt minutes were primarily consumed by Kevin Durant, Kevin Martin and Westbrook. That is a hard rotation to crack, regardless of your talent.

The Thunder picked Jackson with the No. 24 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft; he could prove to be one of the biggest steals from that draft class. He is a very athletic combo guard who is especially adept at driving to the hoop. His outside shooting needs work, but that is certainly something that he can work on, especially since he has a whole summer available to work on certain parts to his game.

The Thunder will look to resign Martin but will not overpay due to the emergence of Jackson. He proved that he is more than capable of holding his own and should certainly be able to log heavy minutes during the regular season. The Thunder are great at replenishing talent, and Jackson figures to play a vital role during the 2012-13 season.

Rob Lunder covers the NBA for Rant Sports. For all NBA news go to the league home page on Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @rlunder18